New Times,
New Thinking.

  1. Politics
  2. Media
5 December 2014

What happens if you display six months of The Sun’s pictures of every man and every woman?

Wall of shame.

By Media Mole

What happens if you collect The Sun for six months, cut out every picture of every man and every woman, find a wall, and start sticking?

Well, this is the experiment carried out in a campaign video made for the No More Page Three campaign. And the results are pretty startling.

First, the volunteers, who were cutting and sticking for five and a half hours, found not a single sportswoman. Although admitting, with the volume of papers they had to get through, they may have missed a few, it became quickly clear that men were depicted in active, professional roles, whereas women were almost always passive and posed. 

Also, the experiment discovered very limited depictions of older women, women of colour, disabled women, and female politicians and CEOs.
 

Here are the men:

Select and enter your email address Your weekly guide to the best writing on ideas, politics, books and culture every Saturday. The best way to sign up for The Saturday Read is via saturdayread.substack.com The New Statesman's quick and essential guide to the news and politics of the day. The best way to sign up for Morning Call is via morningcall.substack.com
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how Progressive Media Investments may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
THANK YOU

OK, there are a few naked torsos, but far more sportsmen and people in suits looking serious.
 

And here are the women:

Granted, a fully-clothed Thatcher is on there somewhere, but they are mainly semi-naked or simply posing.

 

Watch the whole experiment here:

Content from our partners
The UK’s skills shortfall is undermining growth
<strong>What kind of tax reforms would stimulate growth?</strong>